The BJP's Chennai Declaration was yet another serious, if not completely convincing, attempt by the party to reconcile and integrate the claims of party's Hindutva identity with the Hindutva bereft image of the national democratic alliance rooted in the secular thrust of the regional parties and formations. The Declaration sent a clear message to its hard core upper cast social base and loyal partisans nursed in the RSS's worldview that the BJP continues to the fervently ... committed to its ideology of 'eultural nationalism' and 'integral humanism'. But at the same time the ... Declaration also forcefully articulated,, the party's commitment to NDA's agenda to reassure its allies and their social constituencies that it has indeed given up its core concerns (which) had given the party its focused Hindu identity. The BJP has thus perfected the art and science of articulating a complex 'ideological dualism' in substantially, if not wholly, satisfying both its long-nurtured Hindu-nationalistic constituency and its secular-socialist partners ... But it has, nonetheless, clearly exposed the BJP's continuing existential dilemma of choosing between identity and power. The ideological retreat of the BJP, despite being palpably pragmatic ... is bound to undermine its identity and ideology ...
Though the BJP has held back its communal and divisive agenda, yet the party is sparing no effort to execute its cultural and educational programmes derived directly from the Hindu agenda of the RSS. The State sponsored schemes in the fields of education, youth affairs and social welfare reflect the ideological objectives and the organizational culture of the RSS. The BJP-led governments at the Centre and ... in States, not only Gujarat, have massively used the State-funded educational and cultural organisations to promote the study and research based on the RSS synonymising Indian culture (with) Hindu culture, denying its pluralistic thrust and the concept of composite culture as also the role of the minorities in the creation and development of Indian culture and identity. In this mindset, the minorities are crudely presented as aliens even questioning their loyalty and patriotism.
The removal of ban on the government employees in Gujarat from participating in the activities of the RSS (was) a cruel façade to perpetuate its myth of a voluntary socio-culture organisation. The fact of the matter is that the RSS is in every sense of the term an organisation with stated and unstated ideological and political objectives to change and transform the systemic character of the Indian State as defined in the Indian Constitution ...
The 1998 and 1999 elections have underscored another point: the in-built incapacity of the Hindutva- inspired Sangh Parivar to capture power at the Centre on its own ideological plank and organizational-electoral mobilization. The BJP, therefore, can come to power only through a coalitional arrangement. There is, thus, one positive aspect of the emergence of coalition politics in India: more than anything else, it paves the way for marginalising the 'Hindu agenda'.
The Chennai Declaration and deliberations of the BJP reflecting the continuation of its post-1998 commitment to the NDA agenda with 'restrained' Hindutva positioning and posture projected the leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee. His leadership alone has the capacity to give the party a libcral image, integrate the inspirations and worldviews of the RSS and non-RSS elements in the party, and provide it with much needed Muslim-friendly credentials ... (The) emotive off shoots of the Hindutva discourse which directly connect the party with its concept of Hindu Nationalism, such as nuclearisation, Pakistan-centered foreign policy, terrorism ... in Kashmir and the defense and security of the country were powerfully and ardently articulated in the Chennai Resolutions.
... The Congress is fast emerging as almost the principal adversary of the BJP ... (But) there is still an enormous space for the emergence and development of a credible third front (which) alone can pose a serious challenge to the RSS-inspired BJP's hidden or open agenda ...
. Socialists need to explore in a constructive manner the beginning of a 'new relationship' with the left parties to forge an ideological coalition. The latter have also to undergo a democratic transformation in their ideology and organisation ... (Source: The Janata, 14 May, 2000)
Stop Military Training by Bajrang Dal Shahabuddin to HM Advani, 20 July, 2000
Please refer to my letter dated 5 July, 2000 regarding the military training being imparted to their volunteers by the Bajrang Dal.
Today the Hindustan Times have reported military training by the Dal with live ammunition in Lucknow on the banks of the Gomti "to scare away the encroachers" from Government land.
It has also been reported by the PTI that the Dal plans to establish Gram Suraksha Samitis all over the country "to protect Hindus against atrocities from other communities, especially the Muslims and Christians".
The reports speak for themselves.
I request you, in the interest of social harmony, to advise the States to ban the military training camps and the proposed Gram Suraksha Samitis.
